Blog: The First Dress Rehearsal... of DOOM

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It's that very special time of the year when the thoughts of people who were in Professional Services in academic institutions turn to ANNUAL LEAVE. For LO! and it's about now that we realise that we have LOADS of days we still need to take off before our annual leave year ends at the close of July. We can, of course, carry days over from one year to the next but once you've done that the first year you are MAXED OUT and so have to use THE LOT. It is a TRIAL.

So it was that this year I thought "Hang on, I have VARIOUS Creative Projects on the go at the moment - including that SECRET one that I have managed not to blab about yet - so why don't I book some time off for THEM, rather than trying to cram things in during whatever NOOK in time I can find?" THUS I booked myself a couple of days extra off this week to work on the Data and Doctor Doom show, starting with an afternoon REHEARSAL yesterday.

I'd booked myself into an Actual Rehearsal room because there are LOADS of things I want to try out, and doing it at home isn't hugely convenient. The show has SLIDES in it, so I needed to be able to try out the PROJECTOR what I've bought, also the SCREEN, also the FOOT PEDAL what moves them along. Also, vitally, I wanted to have a go at playing guitar whilst wearing a CAPE (yes there is a cape) and my dears there is simply not room to SWISH in our flat, so a room was required.

I thus poddled over to create + destroy studios in nearby Hackney Wick, which apart from having a VERY This Part Of East London name was actually dead good. There was NOBODY about to let me in - they emailed me DOOR CODES instead so I could do so myself - but it all worked very nicely and I had a LARGE room with a whole long wall of mirrors all to myself.

The first hour or so of the booking was weirdly EMOTIONAL, as I frankly STRUGGLED with getting the kit all set up. I kept telling myself that it was FINE, and that obviously trying to get a projector and screen and laptop and foot pedal set up was going to take a while, and also that obviously my Not Very Expensive projector would not have PIN PRICK focus, but it was all a bit upsetting to be honest. It reminded me of when I've done SOUNDCHECKS in the past and got myself all in a tizzy during the first 2 minutes because it doesn't sound exactly right yet. I KNOW these things take time, intellectually, but emotionally I do tend to get a bit of a wobble on.

Eventually I got to launch into the show and it was... all right? Some bits were DEAD GOOD, notably the parts that I'd already done a couple of months ago at An Evening Of Unnecessary Detail, but other bits were much less so. AGANE i KNOW that this is part of the process, but it did feel a bit demoralising. Unlike previous times when I've been at this point in the process there was no STEVE around to discuss it with (or BLAME for problems!) so I must admit that it got to me a bit.

Having said that, there was one aspect of the show which is already undeniably a TRIUMPH and that is the CAPE! This looked GRATE when worn (those big mirrors came in handy!) and felt like I should always be wearing one. I'd worried that the - shall we say INEXPENSIVE - material it was made from would make me sweaty, and that it would get in the way constantly with the guitar, but it was totally fine and utterly BRILLO throughout. See for yourself!



PRETTY COOL I think you will agree!

Also, the GEAR all worked and fitted into bags that I was able to carry, and it seems that I have pretty much learned most of the songs at least, so there are many POSITIVES. Also also I am aware that this is just how it GOES at this point, and that in a few weeks it will be ZINGING along as if I've always know exactly when to stomp on the foot pedal while singing about random stratified sampling. It's just that I'd quite like to be at that point NOW, rather than having to do all the work to get there!

posted 16/4/2025 by MJ Hibbett

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